Next month, the Chapel Hill Town Council will hear an update on a controversial development proposal on Weaver Dairy Road.
The proposal would create more than 300 multi-family housing units. But community members from nearby neighborhoods are worried about the impact the development will have on the area’s flood risk.
In July, Tropical Storm Chantal ripped through Chapel Hill, flooding businesses, homes, apartments and even forced some people out of their homes.
After Chantal, many people whose homes flooded became concerned about how the town plans and regulates stormwater management. It became a driver in this year’s town council races and has been a frequent topic of conversation in town council meetings.
Chapel Hill Town Council Member Theo Nollert said all new developments in Chapel Hill are required to have plans for what’s called “100-year storms,” which are large storms that have a 1% chance of happening in any given year.
In a September meeting, Michael Gilliom, who lives near the proposed development on Steeplechase Road, was among several who discouraged the town council from approving the plan.
“Unless we can manage water the size of a Chantal storm and worse, our neighborhood is really in jeopardy,” Gilliom said. “And we urge you to consider the details of what their proposal says for stormwater management.
Nollert told WUNC leaving the land undeveloped is actually worse for stormwater management than development is. He said that new development improves stormwater management by creating a system to retain excess water, whereas undeveloped land just causes excess runoff.
“So stormwater management for the town right now, when a new development can come in, it's always improving our stormwater a little bit locally,” Nollert said.
Still, former town council member Jim Protzman spoke out against the development in the September council meeting.
Protzman said the development would create new surfaces and stormwater problems.
“And even using the very best practices that we know about, there is no way that the amount of land that's being disturbed will allow us to not have challenges of impervious surfaces, creek scouring, sedimentation, runoff and downstream flooding, such as what we've seen at Eastgate Crossing,” Protzman said.
Nollert said he understands why people are skeptical and nervous about how the town is managing stormwater. But he said there aren’t a lot of realistic solutions.
Climate change has made some properties more vulnerable to flooding, but it’s also put new properties at risk.
And Nollert said older buildings and single family homes don’t always meet stormwater system requirements, meaning some neighborhoods and areas in town are already more susceptible to flooding.
Nollert said replacing existing infrastructure for stormwater management is incredibly expensive and may not even prevent flooding.
“And then one of the questions you weigh is, for the amount of money we're going to spend if, for example, the water is lower, but you're still getting flooded, and you spend $8 million to get that outcome. Is that worth it?” Nollert said.
A meeting for the council to hear more updates about the proposal is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 28.
